- Joined
- Nov 19, 2002
- Messages
- 2,107
Sorry about the jargon! Archi is Architeuthis (the giant squid) and I guess Mesonychoteuthis (the colossal squid) had been dubbed Messie - apparently we at TONMO are on more than a first-name basis with these guys.
As far as rarity goes - we know that Mesonychoteuthis makes up about 77% by weight of bull sperm whales' diet in the Antarctic (Clarke 1980), so it'll be a pretty common species - we just don't have the opportunity to see them very often. Of course, the more we study them (ideally in situ of course) the better we can gauge how common they are, and what the best conservation strategy would be in the event that they do require protection.
REFERENCE
Clarke, M.R. 1980. Cephalopoda in the diet of sperm whales of the southern hemisphere and their bearing on sperm whale biology. Discovery Reports 37: 1–324.
As far as rarity goes - we know that Mesonychoteuthis makes up about 77% by weight of bull sperm whales' diet in the Antarctic (Clarke 1980), so it'll be a pretty common species - we just don't have the opportunity to see them very often. Of course, the more we study them (ideally in situ of course) the better we can gauge how common they are, and what the best conservation strategy would be in the event that they do require protection.
REFERENCE
Clarke, M.R. 1980. Cephalopoda in the diet of sperm whales of the southern hemisphere and their bearing on sperm whale biology. Discovery Reports 37: 1–324.